Knavesmire’s busy GP, Sarah Attwood, has scored a PB in every distance up to the marathon in 2016, and has no plans on slowing down as she aims to reduce her new times even further.

Despite sustaining an ankle injury just a week after her lactate threshold test at the Blizard clinic with Dave Tune last summer, which meant she was unable to implement her test results for months afterwards, she has knocked chunks out of her already excellent PBs this year.

Proving how lactate threshold training can benefit runners of every standard, her times have dropped from 19:26 to 19:08, 41:04 to 40:01, and 88:45 to 87:45. It cannot be overstated just how hard it is to reduce PBs at this level, and as Sarah continues to increase her pace, she will increase her prize haul too, running podium-topping times as a result.

The 34-year-old doctor said: “In the last four months, my times have improved tremendously, and, despite getting quicker, I feel much more comfortable racing, and get loads more enjoyment out of it. The training has taught me how to pace myself and listen to my body better - I understand my breathing much better, and know when to slow down. I train smarter, and it is more rewarding as a result.”



Sarah only started running a few years ago to keep fit and relieve stress, but had played a lot of sport at school and after university, including badminton, football, trampolining, horse riding, swimming, basketball and netball. Even then, it wasn’t until 2012 that she began running more competitively, but after making initial improvements in her race times, she soon hit that familiar plateau in training and racing.

As is so often the case, the hard-working medical professional noticed a growing band of runners making dramatic jumps in performance levels following lactate threshold tests at Blizard, so decided to make an appointment with Dave Tune to find out for herself.

Sarah said she was surprised how much she enjoyed the experience, enthusing “nothing beats running hard but within your limits!”

She added: “Dave talked through everything, and explained the results in detail, as well as advising on the importance of stretching and strengthening. It was great to compare my results with others, which proved that no ‘one size fits all’, that the test was individual to my capabilities, and thus very worthwhile. By the time I arrived home, Dave had emailed my test report, which I’ve found invaluable, reminding me of the exercise physiology from my medical degree!”

However, she admits that she found the threshold runs tough to begin with: “They were a killer at first, as I was so used to running too slowly, but, over time, they became much more rewarding, especially training in that zone within a race.”



She now manages to fit in five quality runs a week around working 50 hours over three jobs, a husband and a dog she walks three times a day, emphasising how workable lactate threshold training is, regardless of how busy the athlete is.

Sarah detailed an average week’s training: “Each week I do one long run, one to two lactate threshold runs, a speed session or a race, and one recovery run, sometimes enjoying a post-race buzz following training sessions!

“This schedule has enabled me to run my half marathon PB at Retford - where I finished third lady - followed by a race win and PB at the Tadcaster 10k, and then another PB at Askern just one week later! The last time I had PB'd in either distance was two years ago. I also really enjoyed running the Boston marathon, where I had to abandon plans to break 3:15 because of the heat, but ended up surprising myself by running 3:20 easily without looking at my watch, when just last year I had struggled to run 3:17!”

Sarah is looking ahead with confidence to her next competitive targets, and who can blame her based on her huge improvements so far this year.

“I am now gunning to break the 19 minute barrier for 5k, run a sub-40 10k, and a sub-1:30 at the Isle of Skye half marathon next weekend. I’m also running my third ultra marathon in June, which I'm hoping to complete and enjoy. Once I’ve recovered from that, I want to threaten my dad’s PB over 10k, which means going sub-39:10, and my mum’s half marathon best, which would see me breaking 1:26! I still want that sub-3:15 marathon time too.”



Despite living in York, well over an hour’s drive from the Blizard clinic, Sarah has also benefitted from Jenny Blizard’s physiotherapy skills, making the long journey to Bircotes a few months ago.

“Jenny was amazing at getting to the route of the problem quickly, manipulating my back and resolving the issue,” she explained. “She gave me some exercises to do at home, which she also kindly demonstrated, as she knew it would be hard for me to return for further treatment.”

Now Sarah is injury-free and almost certainly not being subjected to oppressive Boston-like temperatures, the sky is the limit for the Yorkshire GP.

She has not, however, forgotten why she runs - to de-stress, to feel free and meet like-minded people - but she is now able to enjoy all of those benefits while running faster than ever before.

“Because I am doing what Dave advised, not only am I enjoying my training more, I'm also running faster more comfortably, and I'm enjoying racing more. I would recommend the lactate threshold test to anyone that wants to improve, and enjoys putting the effort into their training. I've been delighted with what I have achieved this year, and can't wait to see what else I’m capable of.”